The former director of Mississippis welfare agency was arrested on charges that he took part in a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars for personal use and to pay for a former professional wrestler to go to a luxury drug rehabilitation center, the state auditor announced on Wednesday. MDHS discusses largest embezzlement scheme in state history, upcoming policy changes, Beloved Mississippi school bus driver killed during crash with 18-wheeler, Eleven players with Mississippi ties selected in 2023 NFL Draft, Truck possibly connected to Hinds County jail escape found in Newton County, Paraplegic fisherman speaks to Beulah Baptist Church, Belhaven football puts a smile on the face of little girl, City of Byram awarded thousands of state dollars for infrastructure projects, 58-year-old man shoots brother after argument over a dog in Hazlehurst, Request a First Alert Weather School Visit, Advertising Non-Discrimination Certification. Phil Bryant in January 2016. Though text messages show Bryant accepted an offer to receive Prevacus shares after he left office, Bryant told Mississippi Today he had no intention of accepting the stock. She also received first place in the regional Green Eyeshade Awards in 2021 for Public Service in Online Journalism and 2020 for Business Reporting, and the local Bill Minor Prize for Investigative Journalism in 2019 and 2018 for reporting on unfair medical billing practices and hunger in the Mississippi Delta. We have been told by officials with the Mississippi Department of Human Services that former Executive Director John Davis ran the department in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. The money was stolen from TANF funds, federal money entrusted to the state for needs of the poor. Newly unearthed text messages show Favre at the center of a scandal dating back to 2020, when a political appointee of the governor and nonprofit head, among others, were arrested for misusing federal welfare funds, some of which benefitted Favre personally as well as causes with which he was involved. New is the executive director of Oxford University School. The former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services and several others have been arrested in what the state auditor said is the largest public embezzlement case in state history. READ MORE: Coverage of Mississippis sprawling welfare scandal. Davis and Smith created documents and arranged payment knowing DiBiase was not performing the work he was hired to perform, White said. DiBiase is the son of well-known former pro wrestler Ted DiBiase. Nancy New and her son Zach New are scheduled to stand trial on welfare embezzlement charges in October. State agencies must improve when it comes to cybersecurity, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. In a statement, the Department of Human Services said it had self-reported the information that initiated this investigation to the governors office in June 2019. Earlier news reports indicated that the initial inquiry into the MDHS scandal may have been kicked off by Governor Bryant himself. Theyve also started bringing in subgrantees for training on whats expected and how they can best meet federal guidelines. What is the extent of the relationship between Tate Reeves and the News, mother and son? To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). John Davis has been indicted in the largest embezzlement and fraud scheme in state history. All TANF funds will go through the RFP process, Blanton said. By the time these meetings occurred in April, July and August of 2020 former welfare department director John Davis, who was indicted last year for his critical role in the alleged scheme, had been retired for about a year. Davis and Smith created invoices to pay DiBiase TANF money for teaching classes about drug abuse, but DiBiase was in a luxury rehabilitation facility for his own drug use in California at the time and did not perform the services, White said. A former top state official in Mississippi pleaded guilty Thursday to state and federal charges in connection to an embezzlement scheme that auditors say misused millions of welfare dollars,. The State Auditor's office says Davis allowed 98 million dollars meant for the needy to flow into nonprofits where the money was spent to hire lobbyists, on contracts for family members, to purchase vehicles, even repaying a loan. The two nonprofits ran an anti-poverty program called Families First for Mississippi, through which most of the money that was allegedly stolen, $4.15 million, or potentially misspent, $94 million, flowed. This is a developing story. Nancy New and her son are also accused of transferring millions in TANF funds to their private businesses, White said. Auditor Shad White said his office is still attempting to determine the total amount of money involved, but the "sprawling conspiracy" already exceeds any embezzlement scheme in recent years. "MDHS self-reported the information that initiated this investigation to former Gov. According to a Mississippi Today review of public records, the agency sent out 110 letters during roughly the last year under Anderson compared to four letters in fiscal year 2019 under Davis. If youre not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and include our website, You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor. A major part of Reevess education agenda has been to funnel state tax money to New Summit and other private schools in the state, including another one owned by New and son. READ OUR FULL MISSISSIPPI WELFARE COVERAGE, Audit: 5.5% of Mississippis unemployment payouts in 2020 were improper, Jill Biden visits Jackson State vaccination site, encourages Mississippians to get your shot, $9,500-a-month mortgage on his horse ranch, Anna Wolfe answers reader questions about the Mississippi welfare scandal, Welfare case judge shoots down Brett Favres attempts to dismiss charges, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. White confirmed in an interview earlier today that Governor Bryant, himself a former state auditor, was indeed the whistleblower who brought the case to the state auditors office in June. But the criminal charges only scratch the surface: Under Davis leadership, independent auditors have found $70 million in improper purchases with federal public assistance dollars. Newis accused of using TANF funds for her personal use as well as for investing in private medical device companies. Nancy New and her son, Zach New, stand accused of using the News nonprofit, MCEC, to pay for DiBiases drug treatment using TANF funds, White said. There really hadnt been the internal auditing capability, the program integrity ability before that we had at that point that was created, explained DHS Chief Communications Officer Danny Blanton. We look forward to this moving through the justice system to a final disposition.. {"requests":{"event":"https:\/\/mississippitoday.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/newspack-popups\/includes\/..\/api\/campaigns\/index.php"},"triggers":{"trackPageview":{"on":"visible","request":"event","visibilitySpec":{"selector":"#c237","visiblePercentageMin":50,"totalTimeMin":250,"continuousTimeMin":100},"extraUrlParams":{"popup_id":"id_989879","cid":"CLIENT_ID(newspack-cid)"}}}} An eight-month investigation revealed that the accused conspired to illegally obtain millions in public funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program administered by DHS, White said. Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the latest updates on the Mississippi welfare scandal. 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Phil Bryant and other officials in his home state in order to influence roughly $8 million in welfare payments for himself, pharmaceutical company Prevacus, and a volleyball court for the University of Southern Mississippi, according to an expose published last week Mississippi Todaythough Favre has not been charged criminally or accused of a crime. Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. She received the National Press Foundations 2020 Poverty and Inequality Award. NEMiss.NEWS is a locally owned and operated online news magazine containing news, information, opinion, etc. The funds in question were part of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which is administered by DHS. Feds: State auditor kept them in the dark on Mississippi welfare embezzlement bust. Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. Nonprofits made most of these purchases, which obscured the spending from public view. Photo gallery: Equestrian program at Mississippi College, Nurse recounts horrors inside a Yazoo City nursing home, Coverage of Mississippis sprawling welfare scandal, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. Jones said he had no knowledge of any alleged fraud and that the nonprofit had cooperated with audits from the department as well as the auditors office. Others doing this kind of thing are on notice: This will not be tolerated now., Former Mississippi Welfare Director Charged With Embezzling Millions, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/john-davis-mdhs-brett-dibiase.html. Check back for updates. I dont care how politically connected a person may be, Mr. White said. Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. Kelly Clarkson's Home Collection Is Up to 74% Off During Way Day Deals, The Best Wayfair Way Day Deals 2023 Starting at $30. In 2020, officials said the loss exceeds any embezzlement scheme in the records of the Auditors office., You stuck your neck out for me: Brett Favre used fame and favors to pull welfare dollars (Mississippi Today), Phil Bryant had his sights on a payout as welfare funds flowed to Brett Favre (Mississippi Today), 8 revelations from Part 1 of The Backchannel investigation (Mississippi Today), This is a BETA experience. DHS made a post on Facebook Wednesday saying it "self-reportedthe information" that led to the investigation. DHS went on camera with WLBT to answer questions about what happened and what they've changed to prevent the problem from happening again. Former DHS director, wrestler arrested in 'largest public embezzlement case in state history'. Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. All six people charged are Mississippi residents, including the former W.W.E. Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. Prevacus, a pharmaceutical company that was working on a concussion treatment and which Favre was a top investor in, also allegedly received $2.15 million in allegedly stolen funds from the scheme, according to Mississippi Today. Connecting the dots: the MDHS embezzlement scandal The cast of characters, villains and heroes, in the Mississippi Department of Human Resources (MDHS) case seems to grow by the hour. The centers director had made a call to her warning her that we were there. Amazon Has Uncanny Dupes of CB2's Popular Dining Chair for Hundreds Less. Davis attorney argues that when White and Anderson have discussed the case with the media, they have focused solely on Davis actions and not the several other employees who approved various purchases or the agency policies that he argues sanctioned Davis conduct. The funds were instead taken by a group of influential people for their own benefit, and the scheme is massive. Davis is accused of creating fake invoices for DiBiase and for "creating a fraud scheme to take TANF funds to pay for personal investments in medical device companies.". Mississippi welfare embezzlement scandal: What we know so far. Johnson said, "she said well I did speak with Mr. Davis and he asked for you to be terminated. Davis also allegedly conspired to use welfare money, which his agency had granted to a nonprofit, to pay for DiBiases four-month long stint in a luxury rehab facility in California. All rights reserved. District Attorney John Weddle's office will prosecute the case. Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services. Seven New England fishermen charged with tax evasion and failing to file returns "Chapitos" charged in department's latest actions to disrupt flow of illegal fentanyl and other dangerous drugs This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Follow him on Twitter @gbolognaCL. We work to find them. He then earned a Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University. following organizations: Whoops! Mississippi's former welfare director, four colleagues and a former pro wrestler have been charged with carrying out a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme to siphon public money from needy. Much more remains to be revealed, including questions such as: All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Bryant denied introducing Favre or Vanlandingham to the nonprofit director, Nancy New. The audit released less than a year later said that according to its budget, Victory Sports used the nearly $1.4 million welfare subgrant to pay for staff and coaches, a program design fee, equipment, an onsite nurse, marketing and other administration costs, and to purchase a $20,000 trailer and a $70,000 vehicle. (WLBT) - 3 On Your Side is learning more about how the former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services ran the agency and treated employees. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. I just wanted you to be aware of this information in case this comes up.. This investigation demonstrates the strengthened controls we have put in place to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud, waste, and abuse at any level, by any individual, MDHS Executive Director Robert G. Bob Anderson said. Mr. DiBiase, who comes from a professional wrestling family, did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. Rumor was that some MDHS employees brought the matter to Bryants attention in June, and that Governor Bryant pointed White to the problem. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. They explained to her that there had been no activities and no clients and they were told to come up with some regardless. Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the latest updates on the Mississippi welfare scandal. Johnson said, "I never had any problems prior to that. Bluff City Life. Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection. Heres an attempt to connect the players and what little is known thus far of the plot in this shameful drama: Mississippi state auditors officials were to meet Monday with FBI agents to brief the Feds on the unfolding Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) embezzlement scandal.

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